Jump to content

Kent's Long-EZ project


Recommended Posts

--more:  I saw this homemade compressor for a Continental made from 1" channel and washers.  Builder says he can hold it compressed with a bolt in the perimeter of the head.  (pic)  It was appealing but I had already broken down and ordered a Valve Wizard tool, much praised by the RV crowd.  At $160 it is expensive but an adjustable tool from Aircraft Tool Supply is about $60 and a little fiddly, they say.  https://valvewizard.com/index.html

    Trouble is, there are different wizard models for the parallel-valve and angle-valve Lycomings.  (pic 2, angle-valve model)

airboat_0311.jpg

Screen Shot 2022-08-31 at 2.19.25 PM.png

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am seeing some really nice work here and there, nicer than my early effort.  I will post a few ideas.  First, nice seat bulkheads by Joe Polenek.  His jig is a work of art (pic).  It appears he added lower back support in the final version.  I don't urge anyone to copy the effort because (1) Cozy seats are very comfortable as is, and (2) it just turns a 4-year project into a 6-year project.  Still, it could probably be done without the jig.

PolenekBuild1.jpg

PolenekSeats.jpg

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Next, Alex Leidl's heated pitot install.  Good but maybe it tempts you (get it?) to fly in ice, freezing rain, and T-storms.  IMO a Cozy is not the airplane for that.  Alex has printed various parts, a heater cuff (pic 4) and nose door hinges.  I have 8 camlocs on the door which weigh about as much as his metal latch.  All nice features, certainly well-done,  but increase the build time.

I like how he aligned his strakes (pic 3).  Very precise if you can borrow the laser level

LeidlBuild3.jpg

LiedlBuild1.jpg

LiedlBuild.jpg

LiedlBuild2.jpg

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A simple aircraft flipper.  Easier than the bigger one I made.  I have also flipped the airplane by bolting a long 2 X 6 to one end of the centerspar and rolling it over with the nose on a pad.  Sorry didn't note the credit for the flipper

And an idea for making rudder springs.  To me, these sorts of things are the real joy in building your own airplane.

Flipper.jpg

210242144_4148454465270976_5419120890516453452_n.jpg

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just reading a plaintive post by an RV owner who had an engine fire, no insurance,  and doesn't know how to fix his airplane.   https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=209597

I guess he has two choices:  (1) start learning about engines and how his airplane is constructed or (2) hand it off to a shop and pay the bill.  RVs have the advantage of being fairly ordinary metal airplanes so an ordinary aircraft repair shop could probably work on it.  I think it would be harder for composite owners to find a shop, still, there are folks like Mr. Z or the Jet Guys in Covington, TN  who do repair them.  My overseas buddy who had no knowledge of composite building rebuilt the nose of his Cozy ripped off in a taxi accident and did almost all of the work himself.  I think I would rather repair a composite airplane than a riveted airplane.

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am removing a couple cylinders to re-ring them.  The biggest hassle is just getting the baffles off.  Baffling is fiddly in a pusher with updraft cooling.  Here is the hardest baffle to remove and install: the forward side of #4.  I trimmed off a piece that interfered with removal and added some nutplates; formerly used screws and lock nuts but nutplates are easier.  Now I think I will be able to unbolt the cylinder leaving the baffle in place.  We'll see. 

RIP Queen Elizabeth.  What a lady.  I have a Silver Jubilee (25 years) mug from my tour in England. 

Edit:  I realized today that the nutplate on the left side of the first picture, is installed on the wrong side

IMG_0173.JPG

IMG_0171.JPG

IMG_0172.JPG

Edited by Kent Ashton
  • Like 2

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Engine work:  My engine was a 0-time rebuild by Aerosport Power--a reputable rebuilder but the oil consumption was never good.  Has 770 hours now.  Some years ago I removed, honed and re-ringed #1 and #3 which seemed to work well.   https://www.canardzone.com/forums/topic/18661-kents-long-ez-project/?do=findComment&comment=78383    Now the engine is using a quart in two hours which is the Lycoming limit.  #1 and #3 exhausts have a nice tan color but #2 and #4 exhausts are very sooty and I can see oil puddling in the bottom of #4 after shutdown.  I removed #2 and #4.  The hone pattern is still visible but the cylinder looks pretty slick inside.  (pic 3) There are dark rings corresponding to ring position where light rust apparently formed during one of my heart attacks and the airplane was not flying much.   (pic 3)  😞   Similar to pics in the earlier thread. 

The small square carbide tool (pic 1) below worked pretty well for removing carbon at the top of the barrel.   The rig I made to hold the cylinder for honing is shown in the link above.  This time I cut some cardboard so the hone doesn't sling hone-oil all over me (not shown).     I cut off a bit of the hone-end this time to let it go deeper into the cylinder (pic2).  The metal plate is to protect the valves.

I honed the cylinders using the specified 120 grit Flex ball hone chucked in my 18V Dewalt drill.  I inserted the ball hone in the cylinder and liberally doused it with hone-oil.  First attempt, the drill was running too fast and the pattern was too flat--about 30 deg (pic 4)  Run the drill on low speed and keep the hone moving up and down.  You are looking for 45 deg cross-hatch.  It only took 6-8 strokes to reestablish the hone cross-hatch. (pics 4.5).  .  I measured the cylinder before honing and will report how much metal was removed.  Not much, I think.

After honing, the cross hatched surface is much rougher than before.  Maybe this engine did not get the proper hone from the reman and that is why it has always used more oil than I would expect.  After wiping out the cylinder, I used a rough Scotch-brite pad and a stream of mineral spirits to clean the bore.  The S.B. pad is needed to remove shards of metal left from the honing.  I will wash them in hot soapy water to get all the grit out and coat the inside with break-in oil.  Tip:  use no assembly lube on cylinders, it over-lubricates.   More later.

 

 

2A1E1DF4-9A74-4E60-B50F-746E81A26806_1_105_c.jpeg

CC74FCFF-CB5C-4CC3-AF44-54FD9AEFB3C8_1_105_c.jpeg

2A44FBB7-3451-4CD5-BCD7-5FACD998CB53_1_105_c.jpeg

0B954074-242F-47D8-A8AA-B8671DAB8D04_1_105_c.jpeg

9D737548-881A-4044-9C77-80AA23FA275C_1_105_c.jpeg

  • Like 2

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, jridge said:

Got any better photos of your exhaust valve in that cylinder?

I have cleaned the exhaust valve so a pic wouldn't mean much.  I saw no signs of a discolored crescent that indicates a loose valve guide and poor heat transfer to the valve seat but the valve does seem a little loose in the guide.  I'm gonna check that further per SB388C (valve wobble check).  I read that Lycoming began to use harder valve guides in about 1999 but that is about when my engine was built-up.  Not much I can do about a loose guide except borescope the valve head periodically.

My pistons were pretty carboned-up.  Should have taken a picture.

I was told by a good A&I shop-owner that his shop does work on cylinders and most engine rebuilders do not try to recondition them anymore--cheaper just to buy new cylinders.  We got 8 cylinders out of the rebuilder's dumpster.  A couple of them looked good enough to recondition but I did not mic them.

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My understanding of a "new" engine never getting good (low) oil consumption is poor ring seating during break in.  There is a guy named Mike Bush that talks of this in great lengths here: 

 

I think these are the slides that go with it: https://resources.savvyaviation.com/wp-content/uploads/slides_airventure2021/2021-07-28 0830 F7 Cylinder Break-In Do it Right.pdf

 

I have noticed several new engine owners try and break in an engine on the ground (or at least do test runs) - which is what Mike says is what can cause the rings never to seat.   Use of proper break in oil (I use mineral - but he mentions other kinds that work (as they do not have the special lube that prevents proper ring wear break in).).

 

Might be old news for many (most?) - but I find some people do not know this - so I share....

 

M.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Getting my cylinders reinstalled turned out to be harder than I remembered.  The problem was in reinserting the valve-rocker shaft.  Eventually I removed the hydraulic lifters and emptied the oil out of them but I don't recall needing to do that last time.  The oil forms an air-tight seal that makes the push rods hard to compress.  It is pretty trivial to remove the lifters with a hooked wire and empty them beforehand.

I will replace my oil return hoses with Gates 361970 Power Steering hose (2' for $14.71) and Mikalor 4 x 19mm W1 spring clamps (pack of 4, $16) (pic).  My 700-hour hoses were hard and the screw clamps ate into them and probably allowed leaks.  H/T to hGerhardt  at VansAirforce.

Maybe you know this but cylinders can be removed with the pistons still installed by carefully working the cylinder out to expose the piston pin which is usually an easy slide-out fit, however if you pull the cylinder 1/8" too far out, the oil ring will pop out of its groove.   Also, it is easier to install the piston and rings on the bench and leave the piston-pin hole exposed.  It's pretty much a one-man job to reinstall the cylinder after that.

For removing valves, say, to ream the valve guide, the Valve Wizard tool worked quite well.   https://valvewizard.com/     The disavantage is there are separate styles for the parallel-valve and angle-valve engines.   A lever-type tool might work as well.  It is a little cheaper and works on both engine versions (I suppose) but I have not tried one   https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/compressor.php

20140626_172913.jpg

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

Maybe you know this but cylinders can be removed with the pistons still installed by carefully working the cylinder out to expose the piston pin which is usually an easy slide-out fit...

When it's new, sure. I helped Mike M. do a field cylinder replacement when he had a cylinder die due to ring failure. He landed in Madera, IIRC, and we flew up there in the COZY with a new cylinder and a bunch of tools. We got the cylinder to the point you suggest, where the pin was JUST clear of the bottom of the cylinder, but it did NOT want to come loose from the piston. Had maybe 1200 - 1500 hours on it, I think. We beat the crap out of it with a hammer and punch, but it wasn't going anywhere. We ended up scrounging some wood, threaded rod, nuts, and I don't remember what else from stuff we found laying around to make a pin puller, and with much effort, pressed the pin out. The brand new one slid in like butter, so we knew the small rod-end was fine.

Anyway, yeah, sometimes :-).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saw this idea from Mike Busch for inspecting Lycoming cam and lifters with a borescope through the oil drain hole (pic 1).  Seems like that might work.  I remembered someone saying to go in through the oil filler hole but that does not seem practical. given where the oil filler enters the case  https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/march/pilot/savvy-aviator-powerplant-resurrection

Screen Shot 2022-09-21 at 1.20.24 PM.png

20200618_101134.thumb.jpg.db29c29171bba47ae35feb7f743ade95.jpg

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Mikalor clamps for the oil return hoses that I ordered from the UK seemed rather expensive (4 clamps for $17) so I thought these Hillman versions might do the job (12 for $10).  Sure enough, they are thinner metal.  😞   Order the Mikalors.

clamps.jpeg

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just talking to a friend about nose strut installation.  Get your strut installation perfectly vertical.  If the strut has a bit of angle to one side, it will cause the castoring nosewheel to castor over to one side like trying to push a shopping-cart on its side.  When I flew F-4s, there was an accident in the New Orleans ANG where an F-4 blew a tire and ran off the runway.  The Dash 1 cautioned to use the hydraulic nosegear steering with a blown tire.  We had always assumed it was because the drag of the blown tire could pull the airplane to one side.  

A smart young engineer-pilot on the accident board determined that the drag of a blown tire was minimal but lowering the wing on that side was enough to make the castoring nosewheel turn the airplane off the runway.  I could be counteracted if the pilot engaged the hydraulic nosewheel steering but the pilot of the accident airplane had released the nosegear steering a couple of times to lower the hook and drop the drag chute.  Each time he released the nosegear steering and the castoring nosewheel made the aircraft jump toward the grass, as proven by tire marks on the runway.  These airplanes had been flying 40 years but no one had appreciated the dynamics.  !
 

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Mikalor 4 X 19 W1 spring clamps seem to be the perfect fit with the Gates 361970 power steering hose.

I thought I would try an auto oil filter.  Some folks recommended Napa 1515,  I bought a Napa 41515 which is a better filter with anti-drainback valve but it did not work with my B&C oil filter adapter.  The Napa filter threads project out further than Champion/Tempest threads and the filter bottoms on the B&C adaptor before the rubber gasket is compressed.

If somebody knows a compatible auto filter for the B&C adaptor . . ..

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cylinders are re-ringed and installed.  I used part of a break-in schedule from engine-man Mahlon_R on the Van's list  (1) run at 800 rpm for 3 mins, cool until you can hold your hand on the cylinder 3-5 seconds, (2) run at 1000 rpm for 3 minutes, cool, (3) run at 1200 rpm for 3 mins, cool.  Then I just went out and flew for an hour.  Surprisingly, the cylinders did not get that hot--about 375F--but it is a nice fall day here.  We'll see how they do in another 20-25 hours.

Always looking for a better way to do baffles.  Pic 1 is what I had before but it is fiddly to make and install.  Pics 2 is a new idea, pretty easy to make and install.  The outside wraps pull the center wraps tight and the small white piece made from soft aluminum flashing seals the irregularity on the case .  Seal remaining cracks with silicone sealant.  Below is a drawing (pic 3) and one of the halves shown on a cylinder.

(pic 5) I have made these exhaust seals before out of round stove-door fiberglass cord liberally slathered with RTV and formed around scrap exhaust pipe.  They last a long time.  I cut this one to fit over the installed exhausts and looped .025 safety wire through it to hold it in shape. 

A few more pics here https://www.canardzone.com/forums/topic/18661-kents-long-ez-project/?do=findComment&comment=61694IMG_0239.JPG

 

IMG_0238.JPG

Screen Shot 2022-09-27 at 2.35.20 PM.png

IMG_0174.JPG

IMG_0242.JPG

Edited by Kent Ashton

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

congrats on getting back in the air - drive it hard to get best ring seat chance.  they say they "seat" when the temps drop 10-20 degrees.  Sometimes that happens in 15 min - sometimes in 15 hours...

On the cooling - with bottom up cooling - would it not make sense to shroud MORE of the top to keep the air that is coming up from the bottom "attached" to the fins?  It looks like once the warm air get past the baffles - the "easy" route is out the back (leaving that top center section to get pretty toasty...)  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, mquinn6 said:

On the cooling - with bottom up cooling - would it not make sense to shroud MORE of the top to keep the air that is coming up from the bottom "attached" to the fins?  It looks like once the warm air get past the baffles - the "easy" route is out the back (leaving that top center section to get pretty toasty...)

My upper baffles near the head were smaller than I intended but the temps were pretty even with the other cylinders.  I am satisfied with the wraps around the lower barrels.  But yeah, I think you want to force all the air to go through the fins.  I suppose it is a balance between shrouding the cylinders too much and restricting flow-thru, or small baffles that let the air spill out of the top without passing through the top fins. 

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OT but I was just talking to a chap about generals exceeding their brief:

(1) When I was flying Tweets, the general in charge of Training Command, George Simler, was a real a-hole.  One mistake got you hammered.  He was promoted to head of Military Airlift Command and took off in a T-38 with an IP in the back seat (his aide) on a final flight headed for MAC headquarters.  Word was that he tried to do an aileron roll right after takeoff, got about halfway through the roll and tried to reverse it or the IP took control but the crash killed them both.   The Accident board demurred.

(2) From the book "Red Eagles":  General Bobby Bonds was the head of A.F. Systems Command and wanted to fly one of the Mig-23s maintained at Area 51 (which he controlled).  The Flogger would do Mach 2.35 but it had a throttle interlock that engaged above about 1.8 mach because throttle reduction at that speed would destroy the engine.  You could only raise the nose a little and wait for the airplane to slow down.  Bonds got an over-the-shoulder cockpit briefing from a pilot, took off and left his T-38 chase behind.  It appears he tried to maneuver to slow down but the Flogger was unstable passing through the Mach.  He bailed out, shredding his parachute.  Lots of good stories in that book about the USAF Migs, including deadsticking a Mig-21 back into Tonapah.

I watched a video by a test pilot with 1000 hours in the F-22.  He said a Flogger would easily out-run the F-22

Edited by Kent Ashton
  • Like 1

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Starting on another prop, a replacement for the last one I did not carve precisely.  It is a 2-blade 67 X 80P (26.87 deg chord angle) which seemed to be about the right pitch for 180 hp but the last one was a nightmare to balance due to dumb mistakes so I will use one blade as a template.  Wow, the price of maple is outasight--$319 for six 7-foot boards.  Weldwood Plastic Resin glue is no longer made so I am using Cascamite, a similar british urea formaldehyde glue.  I ordered 1.5 kg but half that seemed to be enough with a bit left over.  Instructions say to apply to one board.  Check out youtubes for some tips on the glue.

[EDIT:  I was not happy with this Cascamite glue.  Maybe it is how I mixed it or applied it to one side of a board as instructed but at the ends of the prop-blank where I left a hold-down stack that would be cut off later,  a couple of the laminates in the stack came away with a small bump.  A chap on HBA said there are various formulations of urea-formaldehyde glue and some of them have been modified to make them "greeener".  If you want to use it, do some tests yourself to check the strength of the lamination]

I have shown my clamping setup in previous posts.   https://www.canardzone.com/forums/topic/33481-kents-propeller-thread/     Here is the rough-cut blank, partially cut out.  Next step is to mount it in the prop-carver.

 

IMG_0248.JPG

Edited by Kent Ashton

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, jridge said:

How long was the manufacturing process from start to finish (not counting all the precursor analytical and design work)?

The way I do it is rather low tech but it's still quite a bit of work.  I had the vertical mill and the bandsaw already.  Made the prop-copier.  Made the jigs to precisely drill the prop holes.  Made the clamps to glue up the boards.  For a fresh design I made two jigs for flat and curved sides that guide the prop-copier along the airfoil stations, then there was a lot of surplus wood removal.  It is somewhat easier with a blade to use as a template.

I enjoy the exercise but it is probably not worth doing unless you have a favorite prop blade to copy.  The prop-copier is pretty low tech but his guy seems to have a good idea for a homemade CAD machine.  Man what I could do with one of those!  🙂

https://youtu.be/0G3tEE7HEDA

 

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information